The Human Rights Council this morning adopted three resolutions on human rights in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, human rights in the context of HIV and AIDS, and on violence against women and girls: preventing and responding to all forms of violence against women and girls with disabilities.
Concerning the situation of human rights in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the Council expressed grave concern at the reports of serious human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law and international refugee law allegedly committed by all parties in the Tigray region since the start of the conflict on 4 November 2020; and called for the swift and verifiable withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the Tigray region. It underscored the need to hold accountable all those responsible for human rights violations and abuses. The Council requested the High Commissioner to present an oral update to the Human Rights Council at its forty-eighth session during an enhanced interactive dialogue. The resolution was adopted by a vote of 20 in favour, 14 against and 13 abstentions.
On human rights in the context of HIV and AIDS, the Council urged States to break the cycles of HIV transmission by ensuring that all people receive adequate HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care and support throughout their life cycles. It requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report describing the action being taken and recommending action to be intensified or initiated to meet the innovative targets on societal enablers, and to present the report to the Human Rights Council at its fiftieth session. The resolution was adopted by a vote of 42 in favour, none against and five abstentions.
On accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls: preventing and responding to all forms of violence against women and girls with disabilities, the Council called upon States to take immediate and effective action to respond to all forms of violence against women and girls, and to support and protect all victims and survivors by, inter alia, ensuring that sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights are fully realized, including for victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council's forty-seventh regular session can be found here.
The Council will next meet at 2:15 p.m. this afternoon to continue taking action on draft resolutions.
Action on Resolution under the Agenda Item on the Annual Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General
Action on Resolution on the Situation of Human Rights in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia
In a resolution (A/HRC/47/L.20/Rev.1) on the situation of human rights in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, adopted by a vote of 20 in favour, 14 against and 13 abstentions, the Council expresses grave concern at the reports of serious human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law and international refugee law allegedly committed by all parties in the Tigray region since the start of the conflict on 4 November 2020; and calls for the swift and verifiable withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the Tigray region. The Council underscores the need to hold accountable all those responsible for human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law committed in the context of the Tigray conflict, and recognizes in this regard the importance of preserving and analysing evidence with a view to advancing accountability. The Council requests all parties to comply with obligations under international humanitarian law to respect and protect all civilians, including humanitarian personnel and civilian objects, and all medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities, and to take all steps required to allow and facilitate the full, safe, immediate and unimpeded access of humanitarian actors for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to all persons in need, while respecting the humanitarian principles and applicable international law. The Council also requests the High Commissioner to present an oral update to the Human Rights Council at its forty-eighth session during an enhanced interactive dialogue, and at its forty-ninth session during an interactive dialogue, on the situation of human rights in the Tigray region and on progress made in the context of the joint investigation.
The results of the vote were as follows:
In favour (20): Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Korea, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Uruguay.
Against (14): Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Namibia, Philippines, Russian Federation, Somalia, Togo, and Venezuela.
Abstentions (13): Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Gabon, Indonesia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Nepal, Pakistan, Senegal, Sudan and Uzbekistan.
Prior to adopting the resolution, the Council voted on and rejected 16 amendments, namely L.30, L.31, L.32, L. 66, L. 68, L.69, L.70, L.71, L.72, L.73, L.74, L.75, L.76, L.77, L.78 and L.79.
Action on Resolutions under the Agenda Item on the Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including the Right to Development
Action on Resolution on Human Rights in the Context of HIV and AIDS
In a resolution (A/HRC/47/L.15) on human rights in the context of HIV and AIDS, adopted by a vote of 42 in favour, none against and 5 abstentions, the Council urges States to break the cycles of HIV transmission by ensuring that all people receive adequate HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care and support throughout their life cycles, including specialized care for HIV and other chronic conditions linked to ageing, response to drug-resistant strains of HIV, and resistance to antiretrovirals as well as antimicrobial resistance, and, in this context, to establish effective systems for monitoring, preventing and responding to the emergence of drug-resistant strains of HIV and antimicrobial resistance.? The Council further requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report, in consultation with Governments, civil society, community-led organizations and other stakeholders, describing the action being taken and recommending action to be intensified or initiated to meet the innovative targets on societal enablers, as recognized in the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS adopted by the General Assembly in 2021, and to address the remaining gaps, and to present the report to the Human Rights Council at its fiftieth session.? The Council also requests the High Commissioner to invite contributions to the report by Member States and all other stakeholders, including relevant United Nations bodies, agencies, funds and programmes, the special procedures, in particular the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the treaty bodies, regional human rights and health organizations and bodies, national human rights institutions and civil society, including persons living with, presumed to be living with, at risk of or affected by HIV.
The results of the vote were as follows:
In favour (42): Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.
Against (0):
Abstentions (5): China, Eritrea, Gabon, Libya and Russian Federation
Prior to adopting the resolution, the Council voted on and rejected 10 amendments, namely L.33, L.34, L.35, L.36, L.37, L.38, L.39, L.40, L.41, and L.42.
Action on Resolution on Accelerating Efforts to Elimination All Forms of Violence against Women and Girls
In a resolution (A/HRC/47/L.18/Rev.1) on accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls: preventing and responding to all forms of violence against women and girls with disabilities, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council calls upon States to take immediate and effective action to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls by, inter alia, fostering respect for the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, promoting empowering portrayals of women and girls with disabilities and awareness-raising campaigns of their capabilities and contributions, and refraining from supporting or funding campaigns that perpetuate stigmatization or stereotyping of women and girls with disabilities. The Council also calls upon States to take immediate and effective action to respond to all forms of violence against women and girls, and to support and protect all victims and survivors by, inter alia, ensuring that sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights are fully realized, including for victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, by addressing the social and other determinants of health, removing barriers, developing and enforcing policies, good practices and legal frameworks, and strengthening health systems that make quality comprehensive sexual and reproductive health-care services, information and education universally accessible and available and inclusive.
Prior to adopting the resolution, the Council voted on and rejected 2 amendments, namely L.57 and L65.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
© Press Release 2021
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